The former leads to a free society in accordance with the prophets like Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and, of course, Jesus Christ. The latter leads to despotism and social slavery; while it weakens the people until they are a surety for debt and little more than merchandise, it also corrupts their leaders who become ruthless tyrants.

The social welfare systems are found and practiced in every country. Their members claiming to be followers of Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ nonetheless pursue the benefits and eat at the table of civil rulers who are the Fathers of their nations. Or, they do little or nothing to set the table of the Lord and become the benefactors who do not exercise authority one over the other.

Almost every major religion betrays the prophets they claim to follow by applying to their bankrupt governments for benefits that force their neighbor and even their own children to go farther into debt and to become more like merchandise[2] rather than free souls under God.

We encourage everyone to practice pure religion by forming a Living Network of faithful people who care about each other as much as they care about themselves. Learn about the true gospel of the prophets. This will mean you will need help making contact with one another and help in taking care of one another just like the early Church did.

"Because that for His name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles." 3 John 7.

All the problems of the world are the result of rejecting the ways of God and seeking men to exercise authority one over the other by covetous means. It is time to repent.

Corporate Welfare

Any company receiving government subsidies and special assistance to do business is on welfare.

Recently on the Network someone posted an article about how well-run Walmart is and how government should look to them for ways of running things better. But what is Walmart really doing?

If you want to forward this kind of stuff at least forward the whole truth.
Americans are morons not because they are not following the ways of Walmart but because they abandoned the way of Christ for the way of Marx.

"A secret behind Walmart’s rapid expansion in the United States has been its extensive use of public money. This includes more than $1.2 billion in tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and outright grants from state and local governments around the country. In addition, taxpayers indirectly subsidize the company by paying the healthcare costs of Wal-Mart employees who don’t receive coverage on the job and instead turn to public programs such as Medicaid." [1]

Walmart’s low-wage workers cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion in public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing, according to a report published to coincide with Tax Day, April 15.
[2]

The report estimates that Walmart and the Walton family—which co-founded the company and still owns a majority share-collectively profit from nearly $7.8 billion per year in federal subsidies and tax breaks.

“This report shows that our current system is anything but fair – rather it provides special treatment to America’s biggest corporations and richest families leaving individual taxpayers and small businesses to pick up the tab,” the report concluded. [3]

One study showed that a single Walmart can cost taxpayers anywhere from $904,542 to nearly $1.75 million per year, or about $5,815 per employee for these programs all because one of the world’s most profitable retailers is paying substandard wages and benefits.[4]

Many companies may now advocate raising minimum wage but this is to actually cut out competition of smaller companies and increase the available supply of labor.There is no political solutions for the problems of mankind.

Behind Dianne Feinstein advocating secure borders and legal immigration is the notorious Janet Reno. This was the position of all Democrats in the past. The real reason for the shift to open borders is not compassion but power. They realized they needed to bring in as many voting socialist as possible offering free medical and other forms of welfare to entice them. This is also why they want to give the vote to prisoners who are mostly Democrats with a socialism mindset and teenagers who are mostly socialist because that is what your public schools teach them. They need these tactics because voter fraud is not enough to get them elected to power. That is also why they block every attempt to reduce voter fraud which is rampant in places like New York and LA which will decide every national election if the electoral college is removed. People need to wake up and seek righteousness instead of self-righteousness.

Capitalism works best in a society where people love their neighbor as themselves, where the State is superfluous because the power of the State remains in the hands of the individual as God intended. The individual, as a natural inhabitant, can only remain free in a state of nature as long as he remains virtuous. Capitalism does not dictate virtue. Greed or charity remain a choice in a free society. Socialism always brings an end to virtue with the empowerment of the State because it is the stumblingblock of Balaam. “If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great Security”[3] In a republic of noble and virtuous souls there are few affairs of the people that are not taken care of by the people for the people.

Beware of gifts

"Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?" Isaiah 40:21

There are gifts of God and man.

Plutarch said “The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.”

But Proverbs 19:6 tells us the same thing, "Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man [is] a friend to him that giveth gifts."

Polybius said "The masses continue with an appetite for benefits and the habit of receiving them by way of a rule of force and violence. The people, having grown accustomed to feed at the expense of others and to depend for their livelihood on the property of others... institute the rule of violence; and now uniting their forces massacre, banish, and plunder, until they degenerate again into perfect savages and find once more a master and monarch."

This rule of violence and plunder is the same we hear about in Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." and in Luke 16:16 "The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." The Repentance associated with the act of Baptism was turning away from these Covetous systems of the Welfare of the World and going back to The Way of Fervent Charity with the Eucharist of Christ.

The gifts of God which set men free[7] come to those who will walk the Way of God.[8]

The Paul the Apostle wrote to a number of Early Christian communities in Galatia, "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." Galatians 5:13-15

When Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:9 "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak." the word "liberty" is the same word Paul uses in Romans 13.

Have we lost that liberty granted by God by neglecting our natural and moral responsibility that is correlative to those God given rights?

Eyes full of adultery

Peter made it clear in 2 Peter 2:3, "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."

David warned us in Psalms 69:22, "Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap."

And Paul reminded us again in Romans 11:9 that "... David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:"

This stumblingblock was that we would learn to eat at tables set with the bounty of the compelled sacrifices of institutions made by men who called themselves Benefactors that ruled over the people with and exercising authority and is explained in Revelation 2:14 "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication."

Proverbs 23 warns us about the table of men who exercise authority one over the other "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat."

If the ruler is your Benefactor he will only give you what he takes from others. To desire the Benefits is to Covet and that will change.

Warned

We were told by God in Exodus 20:17 "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s."

Jesus warned us of the evil of covetousness and where it comes from in Mark 7:20-23, "...That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

These are the things he called us to repent of in Matthew 4:17 when he first "... began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." and in Mark 1:15 when He said "... The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." but warned us in Luke 13:3 that "... except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

He warned the ministers that systems of Corban like the one they created for their social welfare made the word of God to none effect.

Jesus told us not to look to Benefactors who exercise authority one over the other.

He told us not to pray to Fathers of the earth but only our Father who is in Heaven.

He told us to keep the commandments including the one about not coveting anything that is our neighbors if we want Eternal life. And when 1 John 2 talked about the "propitiation for our sins", he reminded us that "... hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

Israel in the Bondage of Egypt were literally employed by the Pharaoh who provided free bread like the Romans in the form of Public Welfare which was Public religion. They had to pay their tale of bricks to the Pharaoh but learn to gleen in the field at night to obtain their benefits. This is why God hardened the heart of the Pharaoh during the plagues so they could learn The Way of God. So it was not enough to stop taking the benefits but they needed to learn to provide them by faith, hope and charity through a system of Corban that made the word of God to effect.

Jesus said nothing different to the early Church. When he said give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God's he was saying pay your tale of bricks. He even warned to be friends with the unrighteous Mammon explaining that it would fail. Those who cheat one master you will likely cheat the next.[11]

Below we have added general links that you can navigate through to discover an abundance of resources aimed at responsible living. Should you be familiar with any such endeavors we encourage you to post your experiences under the proper heading.

Homeless

Israel, meaning Israelites not Israelis, found themselves homeless when they were kicked out of Egypt and managed to care for the needs of their society through faith, hope and charity. Early Christians and Jews were cast out of Rome by Claudius and the next thing we know is that Paul went back into the tent-making business.[12] When Jerusalem was destroyed thousands left while Titus's army surrounded it.

Those people who left were stripped of all their possessions and money by the rebellious Jews who had just seized control of the city and recently had thrown James, the overseer of the church at Jerusalem during that time, from one of its walls.

Most of those people were probably Christians. They suddenly found themselves destitute and homeless because of their faith. Through out the ages, people have often become homeless through no fault of their own. Read more...

Public Education

Public Education is welfare. It is part of a system of corban that provides benefits by force and not by charity.

James Madison may have thought, "Whenever a youth is ascertained to possess talents meriting an education which his parents cannot afford, he should be carried forward at the public expense." But the idea of everyone getting free education at the public expense does not fall under that description.

James Madison also said that "Charity is no part of the legislative duty of government."

But another question arises. Can we afford public education at any price? Schools as Tools

Low-tech Magazine refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. A simple, sensible, but nevertheless controversial message; high-tech has become the idol of our society.
Instead, Low-tech Magazine talks about the potential of past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society.
Read more...

Instructables

Instructables contains a huge library of how-to videos. It's been comically referred to as the man's Pinterest...or "Manterest"!
As with most user-compiled video sites, individual viewer discernment is advised.

Practical Action online material is presented under a number of subject topics and sub-topics listed on this page. Information presented by Practical Action is focused, small-scale, appropriate technology aimed at improving access to infrastructure and enterprise development for people living in poverty. Read more...

Footnotes

↑Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

↑"And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 2 Peter 2:3

↑Isaiah 1:23 Thy princes [are] rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

↑Psalms 33:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

Matthew 15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

↑Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men....Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

↑Isaiah 40:27 "Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."

↑We have an altar, whereof they have no right <exousia> to eat which serve the tabernacle.

↑ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right <exousia> to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

↑Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

↑"And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers." Acts 18:3